If you don't know much about yoga, you should explore it. It's more than just stretching - it can be a really intense workout. There are a lot of different types of yoga. Pilates is a workout that is similar to yoga, but follows slightly different principles. Hatha yoga is the best for beginners, and has a focus on relaxation and meditation as well, so it's great for stress relief. Ashtanga and power yoga are more rapid-paced (choose power yoga if you want more variety and no meditation/chanting) so they're more of a cardio workout. You can also try yin yoga, which is mostly seated or prone poses, for relaxation. One less-well-known method is Iyengar yoga, where the teachers are trained to know how to accommodate for injuries, including greater use of props. Finally, there's Bikram yoga, which burns calories, and also takes place in a hot room - but not advised for pregnant women or anyone with heart issues.
Right now I'm giving away a one-year membership to My Yoga Online. Enter to win!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Buying Green: Thrift Stores
HellaWella, the new health website that combines well-informed information with humor and personality, has uncovered the latest trend in sustainability - saving the environment by thrift store shopping.
According to the Association of Resale Professionals, the number of thrift and consignment stores has increased by 7% for the past two years and about 16% to 18% of Americans shop at thrift stores in any give year and 12% to 15% shop at consignment shops. To put that in perspective according to America’s Research Group about 19.6% shop at apparel stores and 21.3% at department stores.
While shoppers are rushing to thrift and consignment stores in order to save money they are also doing their part to save the environment:
- ABC News estimates that 98% of the clothing purchased in the U.S. comes from abroad. That means that a sweater hanging on the rack at a department store traveled thousands of miles, using up energy and polluting the planet with coal and natural gas along its way to the store and ultimately an American closet.
In contrast buying second-hand clothing produces a significantly smaller carbon footprint:
- The only carbon emissions associated with that sweater is the fuel it took the donator and the shopper to drive to the store.
- Packaging associated with brand new items often ends up in landfills.
Taking the above into consideration, buying and using gently worn clothing follows one of the principals of the environmental friendliness: reuse. It also keeps those items out of landfills. Consignment and thrift shopping reduces the carbon footprint while reusing items and saving shoppers money.
Want to read more? Visit Hella Wella for the article Save the Environment by Thrift Store Shopping. You can find other great information at Hella Wella's website or at Facebook.com/livehellawella.
According to the Association of Resale Professionals, the number of thrift and consignment stores has increased by 7% for the past two years and about 16% to 18% of Americans shop at thrift stores in any give year and 12% to 15% shop at consignment shops. To put that in perspective according to America’s Research Group about 19.6% shop at apparel stores and 21.3% at department stores.
While shoppers are rushing to thrift and consignment stores in order to save money they are also doing their part to save the environment:
- ABC News estimates that 98% of the clothing purchased in the U.S. comes from abroad. That means that a sweater hanging on the rack at a department store traveled thousands of miles, using up energy and polluting the planet with coal and natural gas along its way to the store and ultimately an American closet.
In contrast buying second-hand clothing produces a significantly smaller carbon footprint:
- The only carbon emissions associated with that sweater is the fuel it took the donator and the shopper to drive to the store.
- Packaging associated with brand new items often ends up in landfills.
Taking the above into consideration, buying and using gently worn clothing follows one of the principals of the environmental friendliness: reuse. It also keeps those items out of landfills. Consignment and thrift shopping reduces the carbon footprint while reusing items and saving shoppers money.
Want to read more? Visit Hella Wella for the article Save the Environment by Thrift Store Shopping. You can find other great information at Hella Wella's website or at Facebook.com/livehellawella.
Caring Cause: Disrupt Debt
Writer/Entrepreneur/University lecturer Sarah Nadav was the model social entrepreneur until she found herself in the position where she was the one who needed help. She was 7 months pregnant and had a toddler when doctors informed her that they had found a mass on her husband’s brain.
Her life quickly spun out of control and she went from solidly middle class to deeply in debt and barely able to cover her own rent. That is when the calls began, collections agents began pushing her- and she realized that it was time to push back.
With her academic background Sarah began to do what she does best- she researched the problem. She studied every aspect of debt and along the way began to find that there were others like herself who are trying to change the way we do business and handle our finances.
Sarah then moved to Israel and found herself in the middle of one of the most innovative and exciting start up communities in the world. She began her own financial sector start up (which hasn’t launched yet) and was lucky enough to be backed by Jeff Pulver, one of the world’s leading entrepreneurs who was part of the creation of VOIP technology and an early investor in companies like twitter, Facebook and foursquare.
Sarah began meeting people working on amazing technologies and that is where she learned about what it meant to use technology to “disrupt.”
“The word “Disrupt” is very common in the techie world but it is not what people think. They think that a disruptive technology is just there to shake things up, but it’s more than that. It has a specific definition- a disruptive technology is one which ousts an established business by catering to customers that are being ignored or treated badly. It’s pretty obvious that people in debt are treated horribly and the business hasn’t been innovated for eons- so it makes the industry ripe for a disrupt.”
Sarah began working on her book with the goal of introducing people to new and innovative technologies in the financial sector. She felt that many great companies were being missed or ignored because people didn’t really understand them.
“I am a busy working mother, I really want to do this but it is something I can’t afford to do on my own- but kickstarter is a great way to try and do an innovative new project. It is a lot of pressure though, because if you don’t meet the deadline for your funding goal (mine is March 14th) then you don’t get anything.”
The money from kickstarter will go towards covering the design, editing, and the first round of printing. Sarah also really wants to try incorporating a variety of different kinds of media into the ebook version so that people can see videos and make the book interactive.
Sarah has less than two weeks to achieve her goal of raising money for her book- she is looking to raise $8,500 to complete the project. If you want to help, visit Disrupting Debt on Kickstarter.
Her life quickly spun out of control and she went from solidly middle class to deeply in debt and barely able to cover her own rent. That is when the calls began, collections agents began pushing her- and she realized that it was time to push back.
With her academic background Sarah began to do what she does best- she researched the problem. She studied every aspect of debt and along the way began to find that there were others like herself who are trying to change the way we do business and handle our finances.
Sarah then moved to Israel and found herself in the middle of one of the most innovative and exciting start up communities in the world. She began her own financial sector start up (which hasn’t launched yet) and was lucky enough to be backed by Jeff Pulver, one of the world’s leading entrepreneurs who was part of the creation of VOIP technology and an early investor in companies like twitter, Facebook and foursquare.
Sarah began meeting people working on amazing technologies and that is where she learned about what it meant to use technology to “disrupt.”
“The word “Disrupt” is very common in the techie world but it is not what people think. They think that a disruptive technology is just there to shake things up, but it’s more than that. It has a specific definition- a disruptive technology is one which ousts an established business by catering to customers that are being ignored or treated badly. It’s pretty obvious that people in debt are treated horribly and the business hasn’t been innovated for eons- so it makes the industry ripe for a disrupt.”
Sarah began working on her book with the goal of introducing people to new and innovative technologies in the financial sector. She felt that many great companies were being missed or ignored because people didn’t really understand them.
“I am a busy working mother, I really want to do this but it is something I can’t afford to do on my own- but kickstarter is a great way to try and do an innovative new project. It is a lot of pressure though, because if you don’t meet the deadline for your funding goal (mine is March 14th) then you don’t get anything.”
The money from kickstarter will go towards covering the design, editing, and the first round of printing. Sarah also really wants to try incorporating a variety of different kinds of media into the ebook version so that people can see videos and make the book interactive.
Sarah has less than two weeks to achieve her goal of raising money for her book- she is looking to raise $8,500 to complete the project. If you want to help, visit Disrupting Debt on Kickstarter.
Shop for Good: Lotty Dotty/Innocence in Danger
Lotty Dotty is partnering with Innocence in Danger to raise funds for abused children and women affected by child abuse to sex slavery – joining together to eradicate heinous crimes.
The “Have a Heart” dress is specially designed by co-founder and CEO Shevanne Helmer to remind people to be passionate about the love we have for one another. This package will be sold on our website and other websites for $70 -- donating $20 for each package sold to Innocence in Danger. In order to reach our goal of raising $7,000, we need to sell 350 special “Have a Heart” t-shirt packages.
In order to jumpstart and draw attention to this campaign Lotty Dotty will be donating 150 t-shirts to be placed in the gift bags at Innocence in Danger fundraising dinner on the Thursday, March 8th (Woman Days) at the Pavillon Gabriel in Paris.
One of the brand commitments, when Lotty Dotty was started, was to use and portray our dolls as positive role models that influence the way young girls view themselves. Everyone can identify with one of our dolls as they represent 5 different ethnic groups or nationalities.
Lotty Dotty's goal is to sell special t-shirt packages with Lotty Dotty paper dolls wearing a signature bow dress and including a special “Have a Heart” outfit.
The “Have a Heart” dress is specially designed by co-founder and CEO Shevanne Helmer to remind people to be passionate about the love we have for one another.
About Lotty Dotty: Founded in 2009 by Maya Persaud and Shevanne Helmer, two American women living in Paris, France, the company has designed and patented a revolutionary line of high-fashion T-shirts featuring screenprinted doll figures, that can be dressed interchangeably with Velcro-backed designer mini-outfits. Harking back to childhood memories of playing with paper dolls, Maya and Shevanne named the company Lotty Dotty after one of their early favorites. The company also serves as a showcase for unknown talented designers who create the mini-outfit collections, and are promoted on the company's website. Lotty Dotty uses organic and recyclable materials as much as possible and is dedicated to aiding women and children charities. So far Lotty has collaborated with the Susan G Komen for the Cure, the largest breast cancer fundraising organization in the US.
The “Have a Heart” dress is specially designed by co-founder and CEO Shevanne Helmer to remind people to be passionate about the love we have for one another. This package will be sold on our website and other websites for $70 -- donating $20 for each package sold to Innocence in Danger. In order to reach our goal of raising $7,000, we need to sell 350 special “Have a Heart” t-shirt packages.
In order to jumpstart and draw attention to this campaign Lotty Dotty will be donating 150 t-shirts to be placed in the gift bags at Innocence in Danger fundraising dinner on the Thursday, March 8th (Woman Days) at the Pavillon Gabriel in Paris.
One of the brand commitments, when Lotty Dotty was started, was to use and portray our dolls as positive role models that influence the way young girls view themselves. Everyone can identify with one of our dolls as they represent 5 different ethnic groups or nationalities.
Lotty Dotty's goal is to sell special t-shirt packages with Lotty Dotty paper dolls wearing a signature bow dress and including a special “Have a Heart” outfit.
About Lotty Dotty: Founded in 2009 by Maya Persaud and Shevanne Helmer, two American women living in Paris, France, the company has designed and patented a revolutionary line of high-fashion T-shirts featuring screenprinted doll figures, that can be dressed interchangeably with Velcro-backed designer mini-outfits. Harking back to childhood memories of playing with paper dolls, Maya and Shevanne named the company Lotty Dotty after one of their early favorites. The company also serves as a showcase for unknown talented designers who create the mini-outfit collections, and are promoted on the company's website. Lotty Dotty uses organic and recyclable materials as much as possible and is dedicated to aiding women and children charities. So far Lotty has collaborated with the Susan G Komen for the Cure, the largest breast cancer fundraising organization in the US.
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